LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jeannie Epper, a groundbreaking performer who did stunts for many of the most important women of film and television action of the 1970s and ‘80s, including star Lynda Carter on TV’s “Wonder Woman,” has died. She was 83.
Epper died of natural causes Sunday at her home in Simi Valley, California, family spokesperson Amanda Micheli told The Associated Press.
Considered one of the greatest at her craft — Entertainment Weekly in 2007 called her “the greatest stuntwoman who ever lived” — Epper came from a family dynasty of stunt performers that included both her parents, John and Frances Epper. Her 70-year career as a stuntwoman and stunt coordinator began when she was 9.
“It’s all I really know, outside of being a mom or a grandma,” Epper said in a 2004 documentary, “Double Dare,” directed by Micheli.
Her siblings, Tony, Margo, Gary, Andy and Stephanie, all also worked in stunts. Steven Spielberg called them “The Flying Wallendas of Film,” according to The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported Epper’s death.